Bolivia's Rodrigo Paz wins presidential runoff

Rodrigo Paz leads Jorge "Tuto" Quiroga in Bolivia's presidential runoff election, according to an early official count shared by Bolivia's electoral tribunal, which said the lead is irreversible.

With 97 percent of ballots counted, Paz had 54.5 percent of the vote compared to 45.4 percent for his rival, former interim president Quiroga, the Supreme Electoral Tribunal said.

Paz, the 58-year-old son of a former president, has vowed economic reform, with decentralisation, lower taxes and fiscal discipline mixed with continued social spending.

Voting in Bolivia's historic presidential runoff ended on Sunday evening, marking the definitive end of two decades of leftist dominance as citizens chose between two conservative candidates.

The election signals a major political shift for the Andean nation following the defeat of the long-ruling Movement Toward Socialism (MAS) party in the first round.

Approximately 7.9 million registered voters were eligible to cast their ballots for the country's next leader.

The Supreme Electoral Tribunal (TSE) confirmed that the process was conducted in a generally peaceful manner, with high turnout and no major incidents reported, despite a highly polarised political climate.

This marked the first presidential election runoff in Bolivia's modern democratic history.

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Source: TRT